St Mary's Church, Fordingbridge
St Mary's Church, Fordingbridge is a 12th–13th-century church, restored in the 19th century.
History
A church is mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086. It was rebuilt by the Normans around 1150 and would then have been an open space internally. The North Chapel and north and south aisles were added around 1230. Within another 100 years the clerestory had been added, the tower raised (in modern times housing 8 bells plus a Sanctus bell) and the North Chapel extended. The Chapel has a straight tie beam truss roof of chestnut that masquerades as a hammerbeam roof.
Externally the Church has changed little since the 16th century although originally the exterior flint work would have been plastered like one of its neighbours, St Mary, Breamore. Internally the Church looks much as it did after the 1840 renovation except for the addition of the organ in 1887 and the reredos in 1820.
The Church once had a "three-decker" pulpit but this has since been replaced with a more modest piece of furniture. In very recent years the Victorian pews have been made into smaller sections to facilitate using the space much more flexibly. In 2000 a new window was commissioned in the south aisle to commemorate the millennium. Also two of the bells were sent to the Whitechapel Bell Foundry to be recast and re-tuned.
Vicarages
There are two surviving vicarages in Fordingbridge, the imposing residence opposite the West Front built in 1817 and now converted to apartments and the current, more modern building opposite the South side.
Churchyard
The churchyard has a monument to the safe building family "Chubb", and also a memorial to the last British man killed in a duel in England, James Alexander Seton. Along with all the town burial sites (except the new Catholic burial ground) St Mary's Churchyard was closed in 1896 and replaced by the new cemetery at Stuckton Road. In modern times the Churchyard has been cleared to allow easier maintenance and many of the gravestones now form the path from the lichgate to the North Porch. The original locations of some of the stones and the owners of some of worn stones can be deduced from the Fordingbridge Sexton's register which covers the period from 1730.
Services
The church choirs and instrumental groups can be heard each Sunday supporting services such as the Family Communion, Matins and traditional Evensong whilst the Praise band, Identity, play for the popular modern Praise! Services. There is an annual Patronal Festival on the 1st weekend in July.
External links
Coordinates: 50°55′15″N 1°47′42″W / 50.92078°N 1.79509°W